History Once Upon A Time

Curacao is a small Caribbean Island that was colonized by the Dutch. The Dutch also brought African slaves to the island, but the natives of the Island are an indigenous group of people called the Arawak. Their ancestors had migrated to the island from the mainland of South America, likely hundreds of years before Europeans arrived. They were believed to have migrated from the Amazon Basin.

Mauritius is an African island in the Indian Ocean known for it’s beaches, reefs, and lagoons. It is also known for its “7 Colored Earths” in the village of Chamarel. These are sand dunes that are colored: Red, Brown, Violet, Green, Blue, Purple, and Yellow. These dunes fascinate Geologist as they seem to be immune to erosion, despite torrential rains.

Peru is home to the domesticated potato. This is where one of the world’s first popular crop was born. The domesticated potato is dated around 8000 BCE. Spain brought this crop from Peru to Europe in 1562. The nutritious and easy to grow potato was responsible for the population soar after the “Black Death” wiped out 1/3 of the continents population.

Sierra Leone is one of the smallest countries in Africa. It is also known as one of the most religiously tolerant countries in the world. Most people in Sierra Leone are Muslim, but there are Christians and people of indigenous religions who live peacefully among each other.

Uganda is one of the youngest countries in the world… literally. About 50% of Ugandan’s are under 14 years old, and less than 3% are over 65 years old. In just 12 years the population grew by nearly 11 million people.

Kiribati is known as the drowning Island. Most of the Islands are only 1-2 meters above seas level. Climate change is a very real natural disaster for the people of this island. Already two islands have been swallowed up. (🙄 And some people still deny the reality of climate change.)

Scotland is the birth place of James VI of Scotland (James I of England). When Elizabeth I (Tudor) died without issue, the English crown passed to her 2nd cousin, James King of Scotland. James was the son of the Scots Queen, Mary Stuart, whom Elizabeth Tudor executed for treason. It was through James that Scotland and England (along with Wales) were united into Great Britain [made official in 1707]. King James was also “THE” King James who transcribed the bible into English for the Church of England. The King James Version is widely used by Protestants around the world to this day. Pictured is Edinburgh Castle, where King James was born.